Every Day Is A Winding Road
by Misha
Summary: AU. Fate works in funny ways. In 2002, Meredith meets a different surgeon in a bar and because of it everything else is changed...
1. Chapter One: Long Way Down

Every Day Is A Winding Road  
By Misha

Disclaimer- I don't own "Grey's Anatomy", if I did Alex and Meredith would be together, it belongs to people with a lot more money than me. I'm not making any money off of this, so please don't sue me. Thanks.

Author's Notes- I know, I know the last thing I need to do is start another story, but I couldn't resist. This is a Mark/Meredith story. I'm so crazy in love with that pairing, even if it will never happen on the show. It's an AU and it starts before the cannon, just my musings on what might have been... That's all for now, enjoy.

Pairing- Mark/Meredith, Derek/Addison.

Summery- Fate works in funny ways. In 2002, Meredith meets a different surgeon in a bar and because of it everything else is changed...

Rating- PG-13

Spoilers- Up to "Yesterday".

* * *

Part One- Long Way Down

_March 2003  
_  
Addison Shepherd waited impatiently for Mark to be finished his surgery. She needed to talk to him, to pour out what was on her mind.

Derek had become more and more distant lately and she had no idea what to do about it. She just wanted him to _talk _to her damn it, but he wouldn't. It was driving her crazy and Mark seemed to be the only person who understood. He'd always understood, maybe because he wasn't just Derek's best friend, he was hers as well.

Just then, a pretty blonde woman approached her, jolting her out of her reverie. "I'm looking for Dr. Mark Sloane." She said with a smile. "Do you know where I can find him?"

"He's in surgery." Addison told her, looking over the young woman. She didn't look like she was in need of Mark's services, but you never knew... Young woman were doing stupid things because of body image and society pressure every day. Still, the idea of the captivating young woman in front of her thinking she needed plastic surgery bothered Addison.

"I don't know whose idea it was for you to come here--your mother, your friends, your boyfriend, but whoever it was, you shouldn't listen to them." Addison told her, before she could stop herself. "You're a beautiful young woman and you don't need to change a thing."

She didn't know why she was saying it, she knew better than to interfere with Mark's patient, but there was just something about the girl...

The young woman looked surprised and then laughed. "You think I'm here to get plastic surgery?" She asked, sounding amused. 

Addison was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I just..." 

"It's okay." The woman told her. "After all, I am looking for one of the best plastic surgeons in the country. It is natural, I suppose."

"Still, it wasn't my place to jump in like that and I'm sorry." Addison apologized. "I'm Addison."

The woman's face broke into a large smile. "Addison Shepherd? Mark's told me a lot about you. I'm Meredith."

Meredith, why did that name ring a bell in her mind?

"Merry, Addie!"

Addison turned at the sound of Mark Sloane's familiar voice. A smile flittered across her face as he came into view.

"My two favourite women together, what a wonderful sight." Mark said with a grin. "I see you two have met."

Now, Addison knew why the name had clicked and her smile faded a bit. Meredith, that was the name of the girl Mark had been telling her and Derek about, the medical student he had met a few months earlier and whom he had been seeing ever since.

Addison had been distinctly uncomfortable every time the girl was mentioned, because it just seemed different this time, like this wasn't just one of Mark's flings. He sounded almost serious about this girl and for some reason that really bugged Addison.

"We were just introducing ourselves." Meredith said with a smile.

Mark smiled in return and embraced her in a warm hug. "That's good."

Just then he noticed something in the distance and his grin widened. "Derek, over here!"

Addison stiffened slightly as her husband joined their little group.

"Derek, I'd like you to meet Meredith Grey." Mark introduced, wrapping his arm around Meredith's shoulder. "Merry, this is Derek Shepherd, my best friend."

Derek held out a hand to Meredith. "Nice to meet you, Mark's told me a lot about you."

Meredith beamed at him. "He's told me a lot about you as well." She turned to Addison, that warm smile on her face. "And you too, of course."

Addison smiled in return, but the smile was a little forced. There was something off-putting about watching Mark with this girl, the way he touched her and smiled at her. Mark had had lots of women, but this felt different and Addison wasn't sure she liked it...

* * *

Meredith was aware of some tension between the Shepherds all through dinner. It was like they weren't comfortable in each other's company anymore, something she found sad.

It sort of reaffirmed her own opinion of marriage. She didn't think she was the marriage type. Hell, six months ago, she hadn't thought she was really the relationship type. She'd tried it once in college and it had been disastrous. A string of one-night stands and flings had suited her much better.

Or at least it had until the night she picked up a gorgeous plastic surgeon up in a bar in Boston and everything changed. It was supposed to be one night, but somehow it had become more than that. In four short months, Meredith had fallen pretty hard for Mark Sloane, harder than she thought possible and it scared her.

She was tempted to run away, yet, something always stopped her. The same something that had lead to her agreeing to come to New York to meet his best friends.

"So you're a medical student?" Derek asked her.

"Yes, I'm in my third year." Meredith confirmed. "I'm already thinking about my internship."

"Are you going to go surgical?" Derek asked, with a tone of what Meredith termed as "surgeon's arrogance", implying that anything else was subpar.

"Yes." Meredith said with a smile.

"Do you have any idea where you'll be doing your internship?" Addison asked. "Do you think you'll stay in Boston?"

"I'm not sure yet. I haven't really given location a lot of thought yet, I'm still going through all my options. Nothing really stands out yet." Meredith told her, pushing her hair back.

That wasn't entirely true. Mark had mentioned the possibility of New York to her a few times and her mother kept mentioning Seattle, as if for some unknown reason she actually wanted Meredith to come home. Meredith couldn't really understand why, it wasn't like they'd ever been even remotely close. No, she doubted she'd be going to Seattle, no matter how amazing a reputation Seattle Grace had, but New York might be a possibility... Depending how things went with Mark, of course.

"I've still got plenty of time, right?" Meredith asked with a smile. 

"Of course." Addison told her. "What made you decide to go to medical school? I'm always curious about other people's motivations."

"It was like the first question she ever asked me." Mark confirmed with a grin. 

Meredith shrugged. "I never wanted to be anything other than a surgeon. Maybe, it's because my mother was one and it occupied so much of her time, maybe that's where I got my initial fascination."

It was more than she normally revealed about her relationship with her mother, but it had just sort of slipped out. Mark squeezed her hand slightly, aware at least some of the back story there.

Derek paused and then looked at her. "Grey? Your mother's not _the_ Ellis Grey, by any chance?" 

"Yes, she is." Meredith said, forcing a bright smile. "The one and only."

Addison looked impressed. "I've met her a few times. Your mother's a legend. She must be thrilled that you're following in her footsteps." 

Meredith had to refrain from laughing out loud. Thrilled? Ellis thought it was a horrible idea, but that was nothing new. 

Luckily, Mark saw her expression and changed the subject to a case that he and Derek had been working together on.

* * *


	2. Chapter Two: Complicated

Every Day Is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Two- Complicated  
  
"What did you think of Mark's girlfriend?" Addison asked Derek when the two of them gone back to their brownstone.

"She seemed nice." Derek answered, distractedly.

He'd actually been quite surprised. She wasn't as flashy or as brain-dead as Mark's usual type, she'd been pretty and smart and nice. Plus, she was a medical student which meant she was dedicated, it also meant that unlike the few girlfriends that Mark had had for any length, she probably wasn't likely to complain about the long hours.

That was always a plus. It was one of the things that Derek liked best about Addison, the fact that she understood his dedication to his work and never complained about his long, erratic hours.

"Do you think he's serious about her?" Addison asked, her voice unusually high. "It is Mark after all."

Derek shrugged. "I don't know. I think so. He's been talking about her a lot and I haven't seen him with any other women since he's started dating. I heard he turned down Tammy, the cute paediatrics intern, which isn't typical Mark behaviours."

There was also the fact that Mark had told him that he was considering a transfer to Boston--not exactly a plastic surgery haven, but Derek didn't mention that since Mark had asked him to keep it quiet.

There was a time when Derek would have felt bad keeping it from Addison, back when he told her every little thing, but these days it barely crossed his mind. After all, it wasn't any of her business, right?

Addison didn't look thrilled at that news. "She's so young." She commented. "She must be what? Ten, eleven years younger than him?"

"So?" Derek asked with a shrug. "It's not that big a deal. It's not like she's 16 or anything."

He didn't understand why Addison seemed so bothered by the idea of Mark's relationship. It was about time Mark finally got serious about a woman and Meredith seemed nice, Derek was happy for them. So what was Addison's problem?

He shrugged and decided it was just that she was having a hard time wrapping her mind around the idea of womanising Mark actually being serious about a woman.

He looked at Addison. "Anyway, I'm going to go to bed now. I have an early surgery in the morning."

With that, he headed up the stairs, not giving his wife a second glance. His mind had already moved on from Mark's new girlfriend and Addison's unusual curiosity to the surgery he would perform in the morning.

* * *

"They're having marital problems, aren't they?" Meredith asked Mark suddenly. "The Shepherds?"

He looked at her in surprise. "A few." He admitted. "How did you guess?"

Meredith gave him a look. "It doesn't take a rocket science to figure it out. They looked so awkward and uncomfortable and he, Derek, seemed so distant."

Mark was impressed, in one meeting Meredith had been able to accurately pinpoint what was going on in the Shepherd's marriage.

"Addison can't have children." He told her quietly, wondering if he should be disclosing the information, but he figured it was okay. After all, Meredith was going to be a major part of his life, she deserved to know what was going on.

"Oh." Meredith said quietly.

"It caused them to reassess things." Mark continued. "Rather, it caused them to bury themselves in work, instead of dealing with it."

"That's horrible." Meredith said quietly. "So that's why it's like their strangers. Poor Addison." 

"Derek's a good man." Mark said, defending his best friend. "He just... When things get to him, he shuts down and closes up instead of dealing with them. He doesn't do it on purpose." 

"You really care about them both." Meredith commented, wrapping her arms around him.

"Derek's my best friend." Mark said simply. "And Addie's Addie." 

He didn't know how to explain it. He had adored her since the moment he had first met her. For a while, after Derek and Addie's problems had started, her had actually been worried that he might feel more for her than you were allowed to feel for your best friend's wife, but Meredith had changed that.

He still really cared about Addison, thought she was a beautiful and amazing woman and that Derek should treat her better, but he wasn't tempted to cross that line. He was completely and utterly in love with Meredith. 

Before her, he had been with a lot of women, but never anything serious. There had never been a woman he couldn't walk away from. Not until Meredith. Somehow the girl he had met at a bar in Boston had gone from being a one night stand to something he couldn't quite put into words.

"They seemed nice, for all their problems." Meredith said softly. "I look forward to getting to know them better."

Mark smiled. "I'm glad." He leaned down and gave Meredith a quick kiss. "Now, as much as I love Addie and Derek, I'm sick of talking about them. They've taken up enough of my precious time with you as it is."

Meredith giggled. "Is that so?" She asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"It is." Mark confirmed, kissing her again.

"What did you have in mind?" Meredith asked when they pulled apart, her eyes sparkling as she gazed up at him. 

"This." Mark said and he swept her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, to the sound of her happy laughter.

* * *


	3. Chapter Three: Another Girl's Paradise

Every Day Is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Three- Another Girl's Paradise

_October 2003_

"My mom keeps bringing up Seattle." Meredith told Mark with a sigh. "Like there's some reason she'd actually want me to go home."

"Seattle Grace is a great hospital." Mark commented. "Maybe, she just wants the best for you, or maybe she's being nostalgic. That's where she did her residency is it not?"

"Yeah." Meredith commented. "Then we moved to Boston for her Fellowship and after Boston, there was Baltimore and New York. More accomplishments for the great Ellis Grey to achieve. So I can't imagine she'd be all that nostalgic about Seattle."

"Well, you know what I want." Mark told her with a smile.

Meredith was about to begin her final year of medical school, which meant it was time for her to start applying to places for her internship. "New York." Meredith said quietly. They had been talking about this frequently.

"Would that be so awful?" Mark asked. "We could live in the same city, the same apartment even. See each other more than twice a month. I love you, Merry, I want a life with you."

"I'm already going into this as Ellis Grey's daughter." She pointed out. "It'll be even worse if I'm living with Dr. Mark Sloane."

"Then pick a different hospital." Mark said quietly. "I mean, yeah, I'd love for you to come work with Derek, Addy and I at Memorial, but... Having you in New York will be enough."

"I'll apply." Meredith promised, though she still had doubts. She wasn't going to be able to get through this without rumours of nepotism, she knew that, but she wasn't sure she wanted to make it worse than it was already going to be.

"Otherwise, I'll move my practice." Mark told her quietly.

Meredith stared at him. "Mark?"

"I'm not spending seven years away from you." Mark told her.

Meredith felt her eyes fill. Mark was offering so much, more than he could know. Her father had abandoned her, she had never rated high on her mother's list of priorities, but now there was this man willing to drop everything for her. Because she mattered to him.

"I'll come to New York." She decided it in that instant. So what if she was going to have a harder road to deal with, once it got out that she was living with Mark Sloane? It would be worth it.

"I'll still apply to Seattle and Boston, but assuming Memorial takes me, I'll come here." She promised him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Because you're right, there's no way I'm spending seven years away from you. I love you, Mark Sloane, with all my heart."

* * *

Addison saw Mark whistling as he was doing something on the net, having stolen the computer at the nurses station. Addison smiled at that. It was so typical of Mark to have charmed the nurses into letting him use the computer for personal reasons. 

"What are you looking at?" She asked, coming up behind him. She frowned when she saw that it was a real estate site. "You're thinking about moving?" She asked, she thought he liked his apartment. It was certainly nice enough, though it definitely screamed single man.

"Just to another apartment." Mark told her. "My place is a little bachelor pad-ish. It wouldn't be all that comfortable for two."

"Oh?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're getting a roommate?"

Mark had lived alone since she and Derek had gotten married and he seemed to prefer it that way, besides it wasn't like he needed a roommate for financial reasons. Far from it.

"Not for a while." Mark told her. "Right now, I'm just looking, but come Spring, if all goes well, Merry will be living with me."

Addison was silent. "Oh. Wow." She knew Mark was serious about the girl, more so than she had thought possible for Mark, but this... This was something she hadn't expected.

Mark had never been the co-habitating type, he had just never gotten that involved with any woman. Until now, until this woman. This cute, skinny little medical student who had somehow tamed the great, womanising Mark Sloane.

"I didn't realize you two were that serious." Addison said quietly. "She's it, Addie." Mark said quietly. "She's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with. I've never felt like this, it's like other women have ceased to exist for me. It's only Merry."

Addison took an instinctive step back, there was something almost painful in those words, in hearing Mark talk about another woman in that way.

Painful for more than one reason. It reminded her that it had been a very long time since Derek had talked about her in that way, like she was the most important person in his world.

It was also painful to realize that Mark was in love, that another woman owned his heart, had tamed the beast. Harder than Addison wanted to admit, even to herself.

Addison didn't want to look too deeply into it, but for some reason, she really didn't like the idea of Mark being in love. Not at all.

* * *


	4. Part Four: Hold Me Now

Every Day is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Author's Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Four- Hold Me Now

_March 2004_

"She has Altzteimer's." Meredith announced, feeling odd even saying to out loud.

Mark stared at his girlfriend. "What?!"

"My mother has Altzteimer's." Meredith repeated quietly. "It's bad. She needs to go in a home. I need to go back to Seattle. She doesn't want anyone to know, but I can't abandon her."

She was still trying to come to terms with the news, with that idea that her mother, her strong, brilliant, unreachable mother, was sick and wasn't going to get better.

Mark reached out and took Meredith in his arms, she went willingly, needing the comfrot that he offered. "Then, we'll go to Seattle." He said quietly, holding her close.

"No." Meredith said, pulling away slightly. She knew he wouldn't like this part, but it was how it had to be. She moved away further and began to pace around the living room of Mark's apartment.

Mark stared at her. "What do you mean? I'm not being a part from you, Merry."

"You can't come to Seattle, not yet." Meredith told him, even though it was really difficult for her. "My mother wants to keep her illness a secret, she made me promise. She'd kill me if she knew I told you and if you come..."

"Merry..." Mark began, looking like he wanted to argue with her.

"I just need to get her settled. I need to concentrate on her for a little while." Merredith told him quietly. "Give me six months, then you can come. That's all I need, six months, please?"

She hated the idea of being seperated from Mark for that long, especially when she'd be on the other side of the country, but there was nothing she could do about it. Her mother needed her and there was no one else. It was up to Meredith, it was her job, her duty.

"I don't like this." Mark told her quietly.

"I know." Meredith said softly, moving back into his arms. "I don't either, but it... It's for the best."

"Six months." Mark agreed, pulling her tightly against him. "Not a moment less. Besides, that'll give me time to sell my practive and put everything in motion."

Meredith smiled. She still couldn't believe that Mark was willing to uproot his whole life for her. All her life she'd been an afterthought, never anyone's priority, and yet here was this sexy, successful surgeon willing to drop everything for her. She couldn't believe it.

"Ok." She sighed. "What am I going to do?"

She didn't want this. She didn't want to go to Seattle, she didn't want to have to care for her mother. She didn't want any of it.

"You're going to do what you have to." Mark said quietly. "And I'm going to be right here, by your side the entire time. I promise." 

"I love you." Meredith said softly, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I love you too." Mark assured her. "More than anything else. You're everything to me, Merry, and whatever happens, we'll get through it together." 

Meredith thought she was going to cry. She'd never had anyone she could count on before. Her mother was cold and distant, surgery had always been her first priority, her daughter never more than an afterthought, and her father had walked out on her when she was five without ever looking back, and men came and went, but Mark... He was there for her, he was stable and sturdy adn for some reason he loved her. He was exactly waht she needed and shee was so damned grateful for it.

* * *


	5. Part Five: How You Remind Me

Every Day is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Five: How You Remind Me

_June 2004_

"How's the apartment hunting going?" Addison asked Mark casually one day.

She hadn't heard him mention it since that day several months ago, but she wondered if he was still planning on doing so, after all if he was it would be soon. Part of her really hoped that he had changed his mind, though she wasn't particularly comfortable with that feeling.

"It's not." Mark told her. "Merry's not doing her internship here. She's going to Seattle. She got an acceptance to Seattle Grace last week and she's taking it."

"Any particular reason?" Addison asked, hoping to contain her secret joy at the news. Joy she didn't quite understand. "Or is it just because Seattle Grace is such a good teaching hospital?"

It did have a fantastic reputation and Addison knew the Chief of Surgery very well, he'd been one of the attendings when she was going her internship.

"Family stuff." Mark told her. "It makes sense for her to go back there. So, I'll be looking into selling my practice."

Addison stared at him in horror, her joy evaporating. "Seattle?" She asked in disbelief. "Mark, you hate the rain!"

It was one of the things the two of them had in common. Derek, on the other hand, loved to take long weeks on the beach in the pouring rain.

"But I love Meredith." Mark told her quietly. "Addie, wouldn't you follow Derek to Seattle rather than not be with him?"

"Yes." Addison answered, without hesitating. She would still follow her husband anywhere, no matter how distant he had become, or how many problems there were between them.

"That's how I feel about Merry." Mark said quietly. "She's... I've never met anyone like her and I want to spend the rest of my life with her."

Addison felt that same sinking feeling she had felt whenever Mark talked about his relationship with Meredith. She hated hearing about it.

"Seattle's a lot farther than Boston." Addison said softly. "And six months is a long time."

Mark shrugged. "There are planes. I can visit and at the end of it, there's Meredith. She's worth the wait."

Addison fought a grimace at his words. She wanted to scream, to protest, and she didn't know why. She had no right to be upset because Mark had found someone, she should be happy for him.

But she wasn't, the truth was ever since she had met Meredith, she had been upset, been bothered by the idea of Mark settling down with the other woman, and it wasn't anything to do with Meredith. Addison found the younger woman quite likeable, she just hated the idea of her with _Mark._ Of any woman with Mark, for that matter.

"Addie?" Mark asked after a moment. 

Addison thought fast, knowing that she couldn't diverge her true thoughts. "Sorry, I was just remembering how long its been that way since Derek said anything like that about me." Addison lied.

Mark's face softened. "He loves you, Addie, he always has, he just... It's Derek, he doesn't know how to cope." 

Addison nodded, but her thoughts weren't on her distant husband, they were on Mark and the fact that _she _was the one who didn't know how to cope. And not with her inability to have children, but with the fact that Mark was in love with another woman...

* * *

"Got time for a consult?" Derek asked Mark the next day.

"Nope, I'm about to leave." Mark told him with a smile. "You'll have to talk to Eric."

Eric Cates was one of the other plastic surgeons at Memorial and a very good one at that, if not quite as well known as Mark Sloane. Still, he was the head of the plastic surgery department, of course that was partially because Mark had a private practice he preferred to devote the lions share of his time and energy to.

Still, though Eric was the head of the plastic department, Derek still preferred to go to Mark for consults, just because he was more comfortable working with him.

"Why are you in such a big hurry?" Derek asked curiously. "It's not like you to not even be curious about the case."

Mark knew Derek was right, usually he'd ask the particulars before turning it down, not one to pass up cool surgeries, but not this time. He had something much more important to do.

"I'm about to catch a plane to Boston." Mark explained. "Merry graduates tomorrow and I'm not missing it for the world."

He smiled at the thought of seeing the woman he loved. She'd have three weeks before the beginning of her internship and she was going to spend two of them with him in New York before heading to Seattle for her internship.

Mark had cleared his schedule, taking his first real vacation in years, so that he could spend the time with her before she was on the other side of the country. He was already dreading the idea of the six months they were going to spend apart, except for rare visits, so he planned to make the next two weeks count.

"She's graduating already?" Derek asked, sounding surprised. "Wow. How long have you been seeing her now?"

"A year and a half." Mark answered with a smile. "Amazing, huh?"

"Definitely out of character." Derek said dryly. "I never would have believed it possible, Mark Sloane tied down to just one woman."

"And loving it." Mark added, his smile growing wider. He never would have imagined it either, but it was true. Merry was everything to him. "Merry's different. She made me want things I never thought I would. With her I want it all."

Mark had never imagined himself as the marriage or children time, but with Meredith that seemed inevitable and he actually found that he really liked the idea...

"Hold on to that feeling." Derek said quietly.

Mark's smile faded. It was painful watching Derek and Addison these days. He was withdrawing and she was crumbling, she seemed so fragile and so unhappy and Derek just seemed so distant and it was killing Mark to see them like that. He remembered how happy they had been only a few years ago. Until the tests had come back. Then, everything had changed.

"I need to run." Mark said after a second. "I don't want to miss my plane." 

Derek nodded. "Have a good time in Boston and tell Meredith I said congratulations."

"I will." Mark promised, before walking away, heading out of the hospital, smiling because he was on his way to see the most amazing woman in the world.

Silently he vowed that they'd never end up like Derek and Addison, he'd do his damnedest to make sure nothing ever came between them.

* * *


	6. Part Six: Changes

Every Day Is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Six: Changes

"Congratulations, Dr. Grey." Mark said the next night after Meredith's graduation was over as he swept her in his arms for a congratulatory kiss.

Meredith giggled, silently reflecting on how good that sounded. Dr. Grey, that had always been her mother, but now it was her. She was a doctor. Or at least in a month she would be, she'd be a surgeon.

"Thank you." She told him, smiling up at him. "It feels... I can't believe medical school is over."

"I understand." Mark told her with a fond smile. "I felt the same way."

"All those eons ago when you were a pathetic intern instead of an eminent plastic surgeon." Meredith teased with a warm smile.

"Yep." Mark agreed with a grin. "Don't worry, you won't be a pathetic intern forever, I promise."

Meredith stuck out her tongue up at him. "Smug, aren't we, Dr. Sloane?"

"It goes with the territory." Mark said with a shrug and then he pulled her close and kissed her lightly. "Didn't you know I'm the great Dr. Mark Sloane? I'm supposed to be smug and arrogant."

Meredith just smiled, her arms wrapped tight around his neck. "Why do I put up with you?" She asked with an amused laugh, wondering if life could any better this.

Medical school was over and she was a doctor, or would be, and she had Mark. The only cloud on her horizon, surprise, surprise, was her mother, but Meredith wasn't going to think about that. Not today. Instead, she was going to focus on all the great things her life had to offer.

* * *

  
"Hi Dr. Montgomery."

Addison turned at the sound of the greeting. "Hello Dr. Roscoe." She greeted the handsome 4th-year resident.

"I need a consult." He said, with a charming smile. "Or rather, Dr. Cates need a consult and sent me to get you."

He rolled his eyes to show what he thought of still being used as a grunt or errand boy. Addison felt bad for him, but then maybe it was his own fault for choosing Memorial over a proper teaching hospital.

"Can you explain the case?" She asked with a smile. She had a soft spot for this particular resident, though he had a reputation for being cocky and arrogant, just like a certain brilliant surgeon she knew... Hell, maybe that was he reason for the appeal.

Addison shook her head, trying to banish the thought from her head. Mark was just a friend. Derek was her husband. She was just upset because she didn't like change, that was all.

"What's wrong?" Jamie, that was hi name, asked.

Addison smiled. "Nothing, just boring thoughts. I should probably get on that consult."

Jamie nodded and then paused. "After you're done, would you like to get a drink?" He asked. "To discuss the case, I find neonatal fascinating."

Addison knew that she should say no, she was a married woman and she shouldn't be going out for drinks with hunky residents, even if it was to discuss work, and yet... She hated the idea of going home to an empty apartment and spending a night picturing Mark in Boston with his pretty little girlfriend. So...

"Sure." She said with a bright smile, ignoring that little voice in her head.

* * *

  
"I don't want you to go to Seattle." Mark pouted as he and Meredith lay in bed together.

"I don't want to go either." She admitted. "But I have to."

She turned to look at him. "It'll only be six months, I promise."

Mark sighed, but he knew there was no point in arguing wit her. They had been over in a million times, she felt this was something she needed to do alone and he had to respect that. However... "Marry me."

Meredith starred at him. "What?!"

Mark winced, he hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "I didn't mean to ask like that, but... Meredith Ellis Grey, will you marry me?" Mark asked, looking into her eyes.

Meredith was silent for a long time.

"Merry?" Mark asked after a few minutes, worried about her lack of reaction.

"I..." She began. "This doesn't mean I'm caving on the six months. We need time."

"Does this mean you'll marry me?" Mark asked.

Meredith nodded. "Yes." Mark swept her into his arms and kissed her. He had meant for it to be romantic. He had planned on doing it on his last night in Boston, taking her out for a romantic dinner and then asking her, but instead... Well, he couldn't wait.

"Your ring is downstairs." Mark told her, holding her close.

Meredith just nodded. "This... This is real, isn't it?" She asked, as if she was almost afraid to believe it.

Mark understood her fear. They both had a lot of demons in their past and yet, together they had conquered them. Somehow here they were. Life was definitely good, though Mark knew it was going to be a long, hard six months.

* * *


	7. Part Seven: A Whole New World

Every Day is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Author Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Seven: A Whole New World

_July 2004_

"Meredith, how good to see you." Richard Webber, Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace, greeted, giving Meredith a kiss on the cheek. "I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your name on the intern list. Welcome to Seattle Grace."

"Thank you." Meredith said politely, smiling at her mother's old friend.

"I got an interesting phone call the other day." Richard said with a knowing smile. "Inquiring about whether we'd have an opening in the plastic surgery department in a few months."

Meredith blushed, she'd asked Mark to be as discreet as possible, but she supposed it was okay, it was Richard after all.

"Congratulations." Richard told her. "I don't know him personally, but I know he's a phenomenal surgeon and I know someone who knows him well, Derek Shepherd."

"I didn't realize you knew Derek." Meredith said, dodging the subject a bit.

"I was his attending a few years back." Richard told her, then smiled. "I assume you're engagement is a secret for now?"

"Yes and no." Meredith answered. "My engagement isn't a secret, the identity of my fiancé is. Its hard enough going into this as Ellis Grey's daughter, I don't need the added pressure of being Mark Sloane's fiancé."

Richard nodded slowly and she could see that he understood. "I'll try my best to be as fair as possible." He told her. "You won't get any special treatment, because I honestly don't think you need it. I knew your mother, Meredith, but most importantly, I know you, and I know that you'll be every bit the extraordinary surgeon that she was."

* * *

  
It took George O'Malley an hour to work up the courage to approach the pretty blonde that caught his eye right away.

Of course, that was partially because she spent a good twenty minutes talking to the chief and no way was he interrupting that. But, when he saw her move away, he screwed up his courage and approached.

"Hi." He said. "I'm George O'Malley."

"Meredith Grey." She introduced with a warm smile. She stuck out her hand to shake his and at the same time, he noticed the diamond on her left hand. It was quite the rock, actually.

"How long have you been engaged?" He asked, hoping he was wrong. Maybe she just liked sparkly jewellery.

"A month." She answered with a smile. "I'm not getting married for a while though."

So that answered that. George felt a little crushed, but he knew that he should have expected it. She was beautiful and bubbly, he should have known that she'd be off the market. "Your fiancé is a lucky man."

Meredith just smiled. "Thank you, though I think I'm the lucky one."

With that she smiled and excused herself to walk across the room.

George watched her go, wondering what it'd be like to be engaged to a woman like that. Whoever he was, her fiancé was one lucky guy, that was for sure.

* * *

  
Derek let himself into the brownstone, trying to shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

He walked up the stairs, that feeling still with him, and growing stronger. So strong that he thought he knew what he'd find. His suspicions were confirmed at the site of the discarded clothing, including a men's jacket that he'd never seen before.

He opened the door to his bedroom and stood there staring at the sight of his wife making love to another man, Derek vaguely recognized him as a resident, but he didn't pay much attention, his focus was Addison.

She saw him and pushed her lover off of her, grabbing for a sheet. "Derek!" She cried.

He didn't say anything, he just turned on his heel and walked out of the room and down the stairs, ignoring Addison's calls for him to stop. It was like a dream, except it wasn't, it was real. This was his life.

His marriage was over, his wife was cheating on him with some resident and he didn't know where to go, he just knew he didn't stay here. There was only one thing he did know and that thought kept together in the long cab ride.

Mark opened the door right away. "What's wrong, buddy?" He asked, obviously sensing Derek's shattered state.

"My marriage is over." Derek stated flatly. "Addison's having an affair."

* * *


	8. Part Eight: Breakdown

Every Day Is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Eight: Breakdown

Mark ushered Derek into his apartment, still in shock over what he had just heard.

Addison was having an affair? It seemed impossible and yet... Mark knew that the marriage had been in trouble for a long time, Hell Merry had sensed it the first time she met them, and so maybe it wasn't inconceivable that it had come to this.

"So what happens now?" Mark asked, after he had gotten Derek a beer and settled him on the couch.

"I don't know." Derek sad, looking lost. "I can't stay in New York and I know I can never step foot in the brownstone again."

Mark nodded, he could understand that. "Well, its a little hasty to be making decisions about leaving New York, but you can stay here as long as you need to."

Derek looked grateful and then let out a little laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mark asked.

"Nothing." Derek told him. "I was about to make a crack about cramping your style and realized that was the old Mark Sloane, this new one is domesticated."

"Yep." Mark said with a grin, letting his gaze drift to the photo of him and Merry on his end table. She had changed him and he was happy to admit that.

Suddenly that gave him an idea.

"I still think its too soon to make major changes, but if you do need to get out of Dodge, why not Seattle?" Mark suggested casually. "You know Richard, I'm sure he'd be happy to give you a job, in fact I know they happen to be looking for a new head of neurology."

Derek raised an eyebrow, beckoning Mark to explain.

"Merry's doing her internship there, so I enquired about getting a job and it came up that not only did he have a slot for head of plastics opening soon, he was looking for a new head of neurology." Mark informed his friend. "If you really do want to get the Hell out of Dodge, why not Seattle?"

Part of him knew that he should be cautioning Derek to take a deep breath, sleep on it and make a decision when he was more calm, but...

Mark knew Derek and he knew that a good night's wasn't going to change anything. He wasn't a man who could take betrayal lightly and Addison had betrayed him in the worst way.

Mark just didn't understand how it had come to this. He knew that Derek and Addy had been having problems, but how had gotten this bad without him knowing?

Why hadn't she confided in him, if she had he would have found a way to stop her, he just knew it...

* * *

  
"I need to speak to Derek." Addison begged into the phone as soon as Mark answered.

She'd called Mark, knowing that Derek had to have gone there. Where else would he have gone?

"Not tonight, Addy." Mark answered warily. "He can't take it tonight."

"So he is there." Addison stated, her suspicions confirmed.

"Yes." Mark told her. "He's... What in the Hell were you doing Addie?"

Addison was quiet. She'd asked herself that a million time since Derek had left. What had she been thinking, but... "I was tired of being alone, of being lonely." She admitted. "I wanted someone to notice me and Jamie did, he made me feel beautiful again."

There was silence on the other end.

"Derek doesn't even look at me anymore." She said quietly. "He hasn't in ages and... Well, I used to have you, but..."

"You still have me." Mark told her quietly.

Addison shook her sadly, even though he couldn't see her. "No, I don't... Not the way I used to, your hers now."

Mark was silent for a long moment. "Addie..." He said finally.

"Don't." She told him. "Its normal. You fell in love, I understand, I just..."

"Addie, Derek's my best friend." Mark said quietly. "I... For a while my thoughts, well I couldn't help but realize how beautiful you were and how lonely and how if I was your husband, I'd treat you better, but it would have been disastrous and it would have ruined everything."

Addison took in Mark's words in silence, seeing the truth in them. It would have destroyed Derek, the betrayal from the two people he loved the most and something built on destruction could never be beautiful. Still, a part of her wanted it, wanted Mark to belong to her, not to some pretty intern.

"Take care of him." She said finally, not trusting herself to say anything else.

"I will." Mark promised. "Just take care of yourself, ok Addy?"

"I'll try." Addison said with a gusty sigh and then hung up the phone, feeling more alone than ever. What had she done?

* * *


	9. Part Nine: Whole New World

Every Day is A Winding Road  
By Misha

_Disclaimer and Notes in Part One.  
_  
Part Nine: Whole New World

_August 2004  
_  
"Derek's taking a job in Seattle." Mark announced over the phone. "He's flying out tonight."

"How's he doing?" Meredith asked in concern. Mark had told her what had happened between Derek and Addison.

"About as well as can be expected." Mark told her. "I think he's still in shock... He refuses to talk to Addison."

"Can you blame him?" Meredith asked. "She cheated on him, she betrayed him."

"It's not that simple, Merry." Mark pointed out quietly.

Meredith sighed. "I know... I just, I feel so bad for him."

"Will you keep an eye out for him?" Mark asked her. "Just tell me how he's doing and be there if he needs a friend."

"Of course." Meredith promised. "I found the perfect place for the wedding." She blurted out, unable to stop herself. "I was thinking... Maybe a month after you arrive in Seattle? That gives me seven months to plan."

"Sounds good to me." Mark told her. "You know I can't wait to have you as my wife, but I thought you wanted to wait."

"I did." Meredith confessed. "But now... All I want is you. It'll be simple, I think."

"It'll be ours." Mark said warmly. "Whatever you want is what I want."

"Thank you." Meredith said softly.

"For what?" Mark asked. "Give you free reign over the wedding planning?"

"For being you." Meredith told him. "And for letting me be me."

"I wouldn't have you any other way." Mark told her warmly, thinking how much he loved her and then feeling a bit bad.

It seemed wrong that he was so happy, that his life was so perfect, when Derek and Addison's was falling apart...

* * *

Derek thought about calling up Meredith to keep him company on his first night in Seattle, but then decided against it. He liked her and all, but he didn't need Mark's fiancé to baby-sit him.

So instead, he went to a bar, across the street from the hospital. He just needed time to settle in, to gain his bearings. He was in the bar ten minutes when he spotted a girl, a pretty blonde girl, who was sitting by herself at the bar.

On impulse Derek decided to approach her. "Can I buy you a drink?" He asked with a smile.

The girl paused, considering. "Sure." She said after a moment, a big smile on her face. "I could use a drink. Tomorrow's a big day for me."

"Me too." Derek told her. "I start a new job tomorrow, new job, new city."

The woman smiled. "Then it seems we're in the same boat, so it's definitely a good idea for us to share that drink."

Derek smiled, there was something warm and sweet about this woman. Something that appealed to him. "I'm Derek." He introduced.

"Izzie." She said.

"So how about that drink?" Derek asked, motioning to the bartender.

Maybe this wasn't the best idea, but it certainly was making him feel better.

* * *

"Where did he go?" Addison demanded of Mark as soon as he opened his door.

"Addie." Mark said with a sigh.

"No." Addison said, trying to reign in her fury. "I gave him time, I gave him space, and he used them to disappear off the face of the Earth, but I know you must know where he is."

"I'm not telling you." Mark said, not even bothering to deny it. "Derek specifically asked me not to."

"Please?" Addison begged. "I won't contact him... I just need to know where he is."

Mark softened. "Promise me you'll give him time?" Addison sighed, but then nodded. "I promise."

"He's in Seattle." Mark told him. "Richard gave him a job and I have Merry keeping an eye on him."

Addison made a face at the sound of the other woman's name, but didn't say anything. What could she say? That she hated the idea of the other woman knowing about the fiasco she had made of her marriage? It wasn't rational.

Meredith had done nothing to her and yet Addison hated her with a passion. She knew she was wrong, but she couldn't help it. In her mind, Meredith had destroyed everything.

* * *


End file.
